The Greatest Resistance Universe Of All Time
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- čas přidán 18. 01. 2024
- Hi. This video looks at the entire output of the recently formed Resistance Universe, created by J. Michael Straczynski. The comics are published by AWA, a company formed by former Marvel personnel, Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso.
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The zig-zag between calm, ambivalent analysis of Straczynski's parts and the utter disdain for E-Ratic and Knighted had me rolling. I have to say I'll always side-eye any comics company that fully buys in this IP farming idea of just using comics as "proofs of concept" for something else. The Medium can and has to stand on its own as an artistic force. Sure, adaptations are great, and eyeing them isn't a inherent problem if handled carefully, but starting from the assumption of (as you put) all of your comics being "proofs of concept" is just insane to me.
Keep up the good work.
Yeah it’s the Mark Millar way and it’s always been super gross.
Brute forcing franchises rather than let stories grow naturally.
I have to roll my eyes whenever a newcomer tries to create a new superhero universe, and immediately starts populating the setting with analogues for characters within the big two.
At a certain point, it stops feeling like metatextuality or subversion, and more like bitterness for having a pitch turned down by a major publisher.
I agree. I think a New Universe (pun intended) shouldn't try to repeat characters that already exist.
I think it's a very difficult, fine line to cross when trying to create a superhero universe. It's almost impossible to not, even accidentally, create something that's been done before. Analogues are a starting point to expand on an idea but it isn't inherently cynical, I think.
It's like living in the shadow of two highly successful parents that you revere. As fun and different Invincible is it obviously still uses pastiches/analogues to its advantage. Some of the best comic writers do this. It's all in execution and, obviously, trying to avoid cliches while adding your own spin to things.
Like I said, it's a starting point and I can't fault creatives for trying. Depends what you're trying to say or explore.
@@AndyR2897 I agree. Just this isn’t the late 90’s anymore, and I think having every new superhero universe be a commentary or direct substitute for the Big Two is a little deflating. Like all the superhero stories that can be told are either Marvel, DC, or something that that needed the trademarks filed off for whatever reason.
I think what I want is to read or watch a superhero story, and momentarily forget that Marvel or DC exist. Something that earnestly finds something new to say with the basic tropes.
@@swootgrommet5921 I don't think it's something that's beholden to the 90s at all. Again, they're stories that have used these basic ideas in an interesting and new way. I don't think it's a matter of "filing off the trademark." I think it's a cynical take, but I can see when it's clear someone wanted to use the idea of a character while obviously not being able to.
But I completely understand where you're coming from and that's a personal preference for finding new and great stories within the genre. They're creatives out there that are trying to weave these stories you're talking about, it's just much harder to find with the oversaturation of the genre.
But I get it and your take is completely valid.
Whoa...no one ever talks about wildcards. I feel vindicated. Most comic comic/super hero reviewers never mention it because it's a lot to talk about a niche series with around 30 books even with Martin and Snodgrass attached. I also have never been able to find copies of the comic series. Great job finding those parallels to resistance. I've never heard of resistance till now but it's definitely piqued my interest
I'm not sure what got me out of the Wildcards series; probably at the time it seemed never-ending and a lot of my favorites were done dirty (Croyd for instance), but hey, what did I expect. I am glad it's mentioned here though -- Wildcards seems pretty much forgotten though crosses my mind often enough.
@@TitularHeroine I totally get that. I will say Croyd makes a brief cameo in Joker moon. I don't think they try to make him as featured since his original creator (Roger Zelazny I think) passed. And since a few of the others have also passed (Victor Milan comes to mind) I wonder if that's why. My favorite was Captain Tripps and I think his last appearance was my favorite book (suicide kings) which is a pretty good stopping point. It's just hard to recommend the series in general due to its obscurity and mature content
Maybe I've just been around too long but Wildcards wasn't a niche thing back in the day. It probably is now, since it's way past its heyday. But, yeah, geeks of my age know WildCards.
Croyd is still in wildcards. He is one of the main protagonists of low Chicago, which was only released a few years ago.
I had to stop Wildcards after the Massacre In Africa (like books 13-15?). Like seriously, what are y'all doing? And where the hell is Fortunato? And why is Billy Ray (Carnifex) still alive with the shit he pulls?
Croyd Crenson (The Sleeper) is my alter-ego/spirit-animal.
DAMN!
I think your comment on Eratic was the most harshest you ever been. I can feel the roaring disappointment in your calm voice.
Admittedly, I really, really didn't like it. :)
@@StrangeBrainParts
It’s to the point I wanna read it myself to see if it’s bad as you said.
@@thefvguy5648
I now want to experience the mess...right after I spend a few
dozen dollars on some back issues of comics I like.
The premise of Knighted makes me think of Dick Grayson's time as Batman, but it seems like this character is insecure in a way that Dick isn't.
I nearly spit out my drink at your E-Ratic review 😂
Never knew of these books before now! I'm sorry you didn't like Eratic, 'cause it seems to be the most "typical" super-hero title of all those mentioned. Damn, you were BRUTAL!
Yeah, I didn't hold back. :)
Of what is mentioned here, I’ve read Resistance, Knighted and both E-Ratic series. I enjoyed E-Ratic & Knighted. My favorite AWA title to date is Not All Robots.
I think the Jones is a pretty cool's comic story about family with super powers
I’m glad I didn’t tune out one you mentioned Jemas. JMS writes very interesting scripts for whatever media he is working in. It’s too bad he is rehashing his own stories but he tells a good tale and I should check out his work from this publisher. Thanks for great content as always!
So what I noticed about the awa comics is that a safe bet is if the art consists of ugly 3D models then the story is more focused and interesting and if the art is drawn by hand it’ll have bad/mediocre writing.
I remember seeing the preview articles about the Resistance, reading them to find out what JMS was up to, and being very confused. "Wait a second, this sounds exactly like Rising Stars. What the heck?" This reuse of ideas feels a bit like Steve Englehart's telling Mantis-focused stories no matter which title he was writing (including non-Marvel titles!). It's probably closer to Warren Ellis' use of weird occultism and weird science no matter what book he was writing, sometimes reusing old story ideas in different settings. The difference is that neither Englehart nor Ellis seemed to be thinking, "It just has to work this time!"
I actually love what AWA did with these comics, Fight Girls, Telepaths, Knighted and Not All Robots. It feels so Vertigo-y.
I have no familiarity with AWA or Resistance Universe, although I am a fan of some of J. Michael Straczynski's work; with Rising Stars being a highlight. Publishing comic books with the express purpose of optioning the adaptation rights seems like a pretty modern, if not cynical practice. I suppose I'm naive to think comic books should be enjoyed in their own right, as opposed to the basis for other media. In any case thank you for this brief coverage of a newer publisher and their content.
I didn’t know JMS did another universe. I’ll check it out.
Since you mentioned wild cards, I wonder if you've ever read the web novel superhero work Worm? People say it's one of the best superhero stories. It definitely lives up to the hype for me. It just blows my mind. It was the guy's first work
Also your thoughts on ghost machine From GeoffJohn's like Geiger and junkyard joe and their motto heroes but no capes?
Interesting. When i think of Moths it brings to mind Marvel's Strikeforce Morituri.
This is the first I've heard of this universe. Thanks for telling us about it.
New to me! Your recommendations are always solid, I have a little library of your content catalog
I read the early Resistance mini series and bought several AWA titles to support the new publisher, but I was largely unimpressed.
I got the same remix vibes from the resistance as you mention in the video and not enough character to interest me. I've largely lost interest in world building for the sake of World building. I need a story and characters to engage me.
I like some of the AWA stuff. But I have never read one page of any Resistance book
I thought Supreme Power was excellent to start though
Strikeforce: Morituri?
There are few original concepts, but this sounds very similar to that 80s comic series.
That occurred to me too! But it has been many years since I read it and didn't trust my memory. So I didn't draw any parallels.
Never heard of this universe til now. Ive read Supreme Power but not Rising Stars, so I cant fully say whether or not I'd like it yet. Have to be honest though, I'd probably give Knighted a look at
Lol comic book writers really need to consider how much they support vigilante justice and what essentially amounts to everyone carrying weapons
Had not heard of this universe beyond a tiny blip years ago. Totally forgot about it and never saw it out in the wild
When one remembers that Straczynski left "sense8" without a public explanation after the first season, it seems likely he wanted a chance to see his own ideas from the show through without whatever he feels went wrong that made him leave before the show ended.
From what I see, Straczynski is credited with co-writing scripts for the entire series. So I don't think he left after the first season. Unless all the scripts were written beforehand. If so, his involvement wasn't necessary past that first season. But...I don't know.
@@StrangeBrainParts Yeah, sorry for some misinformation based on foggy memories. What happened (after looking online to see where my memory of him falling away from the show came from) is that he was involved in every aspect of the production during the first season, including shooting and editing the show.Then for the second season, Lana took much more control of the show with Lilly no longer contributing and JMS's contribution falling back to co-wrirer, no longer being involved in the production of the show. Then, for the finale that wrapped up the story after season two, JMS was no longer involved in the writing, with Lana being the only one of the three original creators still making it. So, my observation in my original post definitely has less basis in reality than I originally thought, though he was not involved in the finale, so maybe a tiny element of dissatisfaction involved.
Great video! Also that's a great thumbnail btw!
great episode!
I'm not gonna waste time explaining why the titles Alan said are bad are actually good. I respect Alan and the insights he gives to some things; the thing is like what you like, know what you like and be open to try something. Unless you're Bill Jemas and repeat what got him kicked out of a lot other companies. It's just that AWA threw him out with his junk: an admittedly interesting other universe called Lesser Evils starting with a good story about a Golem.
You got that right! Like what you like. Who cares if I think it's garbage? You really, really shouldn't care. Like, not even a little. (I'm being genuine here.)
I work at a comic book warehouse and have the terrible burden of telling you E-ratic is seemingly the most popular AWA book. It’s certainly the one we sell the most copies of.
Wow! 😅
Aight, let's engage. I had not heard about the Resistance at all, I appreciate Michael J.'s experience at play but the entire concept of crafting a marketable universe from the get go is such an... exhausting tendency.
2:31 Always happy to see a Wild Cards reference in the, uh.....wild. I'm only seven books in (out of like thirty), but I feel like more comic fans should read it. And along with it: Superfolks and Alan Moore's new Thunderman story.
Do you mind making videos on the Charlton characters? I find them and their stories so fascinating, and I think they (Captain Atom) get shafted too hard.
Fun thing: I found out about Resistance and didn't know that through Eratic, because I was interested what the else the writer behind Spider-man: Reign done. It was Eratic and Amazing Fantasy series. Dude loves Spider-man.
Good one!
Are we talking about Terry McGinnis? I thought I heard somebody mention Peter Parker inheriting the Batman mantle.
I’m kind of surprised none of this was on my radar.
So very hit and miss. Got it.
Love yr work, not come across resistance before which surprised me til I saw when it came out
Ironically, your scathing review of E-Ratic makes me want to check it out.
Oh hey I have that Resistance: Reborns comic, it was fairly interesting from what I remember
I read some of The Resistance because I love Mike Deodato's artwork. Unfortunately, the story didn't grab me (not exactly sure why). I also found Deodato was using too many digital (Clip Studio Paint) shortcuts for my taste. I hope to find another AWA title to get into as Marvel and DC have no appeal in the last five-ish years.
Thanks 🙏
So checked out on comics since 2018 or so, I had never even heard of this … and it seems like I didn’t miss much haha
Love this guys diction 😌😌😌
Thank you. :)
Very interesting video.
No "possibly" about it, B5 _is_ the best thing JMS has ever done.
Agreed (from a previous comment) on the Wild Cards nod, it doesn't get mentioned enough.
Straczynski's best creation was no doubt Supreme Powers, which opened up SO MUCH in superhero comics.
EDIT: I liked the CZcams logo 'pasties'.
Supreme Power was pretty darn good. It's unfortunate it was taken from Max and toned down.
Honestly I found eratic to be a interesting series however I do agree the series went off the rails after the second volume because I had no idea what was going in that series as a whole in my opinion.
Did JMS ever write a mainstream Event comic?
You know what? I don't think so. The closest he came was One More Day. But that wasn't a Marvel event. It was just eventful.
Gotta say something here, while browsing AWA's Resistance series, JMS is trying his hands at doing his own version of Wild Cards is interesting but I think the problem with his universe now, is that you live in an era between various interpretations of those same ideas being readily available. But worst of all they've got better stylized art and better pacing to boot from the present to the past. My Hero Academia, Zenith, Watchmen, the old later day Wildstorm including the America's Best lines of books, have done this ground JMS is doing but far better.
I suspect that part of the problem which I saw with reading the titles of the resistance line is that JMS is doing soap opera pacing in a way that Grant Morrison or Moore could do that exact same exploration and get the same results in a series of 5 to 10 pagers in a prime 2000 AD anthology book. Soap Opera pacing for television is not the same as what you should have on the comic page (see Zenith). And because those books exist, JMS's take on superpowers still feels like a busted relic of the bronzing 80's between the big two comic brands. In this day and age with those other series readily available doing an entire universe that flips between moods and series and as you said, doesn't link up correctly and just feels like a ponderous work on worn over ground.
My hero academia at it's final act is really bad and under delivers on wider world building themes.
@@mikhaelgribkov4117 But here's the rub. You were excited for all of the previous acts and in the world of good comic story telling that's what matters. If you take am overtly ponderous approach to a story and it's nothing but world building with slow and disjointed payoffs, your audience is going to leave in droves.
World building isn't what ever drives the best stories, it's the characters and their interactions that drive the world building as they experience it.
I never heard of this series. Though when I hear shared universe. I’m reminded of all the other upstart companies that did the same thing and failed. They’re not about stories, they’re about product. Trying to cash in on the movie business that Marvel has dominated. Despite the fact that it seems to be in a decline. Obviously, they started before that bubble was about to burst. Personally I don’t think it’s a good business plan to create only for the hope being some big studio will adapt one of your works.
If you ever have a moment when you second guess what you’re doing and if you should stop making these videos, keep going. You are as good as there is, you present in a perfect format with concise descriptions that even Hemingway would be envious. I would watch your videos to learn about characters I have no affinity for. You videos are THE PERFECT overview, and will be for years to come. Bravo.
That is very kind of you to say. As for second guessing myself and whether to continue, that's never going to disappear from my thoughts. Six years of relative obscurity ensures I remain humble.
Nothing kills my interest in a comic quite as fast as reading on the credits: "Mike Deodato".
Except maybe "Salvador Larroca"
Great video 👍,
I am delighted that you have covered The Resistance Universe. I absolutely love it. I started reading it during the pandemic. I actually don't own E'Ratic and Knighted but you are the first I've heard to really hate them 😂😂. I really appreciate your honesty.
Now...would you consider reviewing the Marvel Shadowline Universe??
I love the concept of Doctor Zero and I am addicted to Denys Cowan art with Bill Sienkiewicz inks. You have mentioned the Shadowline books before in your New Universe video. Great work sir as always 👏 👍 👌.
I now HAVE to do the Shadowline! I loved it back in the day. Doctor Zero was pretty awesome.
@@StrangeBrainParts yay👍😍😉😏
Axel Alonso had big shoes to fill at VERTIGO taking over after the incredible Karen Berger. I like what he did. Cheers for another fantastic video.
Thank you!
I hadn't heard of AWA or the Resistance universe at all. Despite your descriptions rendering this as pretty homegeneous to mainstream comics universes, I think there's a fair bit I have to digest before really commenting.
A "Joe's Comics" book by Straczynski that had real potential was Midnight Nation, but I never found any beyond issue one.
If you do find the rest of Midnight Nation I think you'll like it. I'd stick with the Straczynski books when it comes to this universe. That is, if you like his writing in general.
@@StrangeBrainPartsLike you say, his writing is thoughtful and considered. Even re-using some of his own devices (the energy transfer) does seem to have a different quality as you described it.
I read some AWA books, being Hit Me my favourite. Didn't read any Resistance books at all.
Had not heard of this. The E_Rat_Attic (?) title coverage was one of the very best of this channels encapsulation of signature style. That is a real reason i have stayed on as a sub ultimately realizing I am a fan & may always be. When the second series title image Recharged flashed up on the screen I said to myself "... oh, oh hell no ...". As if to echo my own thoughts his dismissal of the title outright was one of if not the most poignant seconds of interaction I've had with, huh, no other person present, just been talking to myself. That is quite an existential flip I have just now come to realize as I finish writing the sentence ... might have to go do some self reflection.
AWA has been the most solid writing and art coming out. There are a few stinkers, but overall, it's pretty solid
Hello, thank you for another excellent video.😁 I've never heard of these comic books at all, they don't look very worthy. -- You mentioned the series THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, will you make a video reviewing that some day?
I'm seriously considering reviewing Wicked+Divine. I recently re-read it just for fun. So it's reasonably fresh in my mind.
had no idea any of this existed tbh
Never heard of this before
The alien acquired power that burns out its user was first done in the late 80s Strikeforce: Morituri wasn't it?
Mister Strange Brain Parts, do you ever plan on someday talking about Jack Cole's original run on Plastic Man? I think it could make an interesting video, but I noticed apart from Herbie, Cerebus, and Mr. A you don't normally cover long running series, so maybe it's a little outside of your usual style, but I think it'd be neat
I would love to cover the whole career of Jack Cole, actually.
@@StrangeBrainParts Sounds awesome, I can't wait to see it someday!
Had Jemas and Axel produced more non superhero stuff at Marvel 20 plus years ago....maybe Marvel Studios would have had more content to adapt. Especially given mainstream audiences growing boredom with the MCU.
I had no idea this existed and after the video I see no reason to do it lol 😄 I loved Babylon 5
Do more Ennis!!
Personally, from what you've shown off, a lot of the art isn't up my alley, just strange use of photographs that makes it feel a bit rushed or soulless I guess. If Knighted and E-Ratic's art were on the more cohesively written books, I feel like that would be the best of both worlds. Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about using comics solely as a point of reference for a larger project, but it is what it is.
Never heard of it. I don't think Straczynski fan. Tried getting into BAB 5 several times and just keep bouncing off of it. Same with SENSE 8. I still respect his work.
Mmm. Smells like Blackrock. "Venture Capital" Indeed.
Sorry...never heard of any of these. I read Fight Girls and Redemption from AWA, but my lcs is not too adventurous about ordering unproven titles like these.
As soon as you said a virus have a small percentage super powers I was like “Wild Cards much”. JMS isn’t a hack though so I’m sure it’s different enough. Also probably a lot less uncomfortable sexual stuff in this one. Wild Cards is weird.
So I am confused -- is this something I should read or not -- and granted its a lot of miniseries so I should pick and choose -- or should I just skip this all together.
I liked just about everything else JMS has done and most of Jemas.
So I am very torn and uncertain if I should put any of this on my reading list.
Either way, thanks for the video -- top quality as always. :)
If you like JMS's work then I think the Resistance material might be for you.
New to me
It allows a challenge doing world building. like you said it need both diversity and consistency. wonder how you balance the two.
The answer is simple: Just include real characters. There you go.
I'm assuming when you say real characters. You mean characters with real emotion and motivations.@@StrangeBrainParts
Yes, that’s what I mean. 😀
ok out of curiosity who would you based let say bruce Wayne or clark Kent on to get that realism?@@StrangeBrainParts
new to me
I’m glad I didn’t have to read this to know it’s not good
This video is the first I've ever heard of the resistance universe. This imprint has some interesting ideas on display, but I doesn't really grab my attention.
I couldn't do Resistance. I got the first mini but it was so boring, art and story that it made Eratic look good to me. At least the art in eratic was cartoonish. I couldn't go back to read more of any of it
The best thing to come out of AWA for me was Hotell, Crimson Cage and Black Tape. Currently enjoying Ribbon Queen and wanted to love Not all Robots, but didn't like the art. Took out the horror and humor, to me.
If Mark Texeira's art can't elevate your book then the writing must be real bad.
Ive seen these books have good reviews, but I was never tempted, so never actually read any.
This is my first time hearing about this! JML has some amazing stories! Check out Midnight Nation.😎👍🏼
I have! It's a good suggestion.
To be honest, I saw some of his stories, but they seemed very boring
I think what I said about their world mostly applies to Valiant Comics Especially the reboot
:Hears the words, "funded by venture capitalists":
...This isn't going to go well.
I liked knighted and E-rratic I wasn't a fan of the photos used in the comic
Or the main characters, colors of red and blue That's a little too close to Spider-Man. should have gone for different colors palette like white gray, brown, orange or a dark grey to give off rat vibes and maybe purple to give off electricity vibes
_Not All Robots_ is the only AWA thing I've checked out because of Mark Russell's writing. Not a JMS fan, his world-spanning approach doesn't interest me and once you realise AWA is an IP farm for other media the competent yet bland photo-realist art style makes sense.
Sub 10 club!
A Copy cat Spiderman.
Different stroke for different folks, especially when it comes to art, but I have never understood the appeal of Mike Deodato. His erratic use of shadows has always seemed to me as obviously a lazy way to dress up bad art; similar to Rob Liefeld using manga influence to hide his inability to deal with proportion in figures. In Deodato's case, though, I always get the feeling that he's doing bad 3D modeling and coloring on top of it, and that makes his underlying figures so incredibly boring, because the anatomy and perspective is quote-unquote 'perfect'.
SBP judiciously didn't mention JMS's infamous Spiderman run, but that pairing alone turned me off from the Resistance Universe. Glad it seems like I haven't missed much.
Personally, I liked how he drew female characters. Superficial, I know.
the examples shown in the video just make me not want to read the comics, just a lot of photo referencing and computer coloring filters
Most of this stuffing seems like it was put together by valiant to be filler😂❤
Disagree. E-ratic is actually somehow worse than what you described.
Looking at all of these, my main takeaway is that most of the artwork in these books look so average and plain, that it doesn’t really motivate me to want to read any of these.
I do think they are primarily using new artists. So I gave them some latitude. But, yeah...some of the art styles were just okay.
"Knighted": a cover that blatantly rips off "The Dark Knight Returns", with a completely unsubtle tagline "HEROES ̷N̷E̷V̷E̷R̷ DIE." Just that cover alone would turn me off and not inspire me to even look at the book.
Never heard of this comic, sounds very generic. Good video review.
It seems like an idea 20 years out of date. In all regards. It lacks the novelty of other non-costumed and "real" superheroes of the late 90s-early 00s, and it lacks the charm of your typical superhero comics. You can start a drinking game regarding how much it is a paint-by-numbers "mature" superhero story. "Dirty" artwork? Check. Because the world is a dirty place or something. Mute and uninspired palette? Check. Because God forbid the target demographic of these comic books notice any colour other than brown or gray. They might have an aneurysm. Not wearing costumes? Check. Because we all know that colourful costumes means it's for kids and you can't have a story about the real world for kids. People in costumes are corrupt individuals? Check. Because we still can't get enough of their nuanced takes on not-Batman boning not-Robin when nobody is watching
I thought we grew up out of "not wearing tights" craze, but no. Somebody still hasn't flushed it out of their system, apparently
I initially skipped this new universe and after watching your great review, I doubt I'll ever look into it
Also
Somebody actually thought that another shared superhero universe is a good idea in 2020? Really?
Sounds boring. They started from the wrong starting point. They seem to be trying to be the next Western- comic juggernaut tailor made to be adapted to the big screen. The problem is that the comics industry is dying and the kids like manga now. Besides that the audiences for comics / TV shows/ games and movies are all vastly different, so much so that they're dominated by different demographics. To have a successful comic doesn't translate to a successful TV show for instance.
These didn´t work for me and JMS did all of this better a few times over. Sense 8 sucks though. The often questionable digital art ain´t helping either. It all feels very cynical. More product first than anything else.
Mike Deodato's artwork is terrible but Moths looks even worse.
not first :v